The Vibes are Off: Considering Embodied Reflections by TBIPOC to Account for Displacement and Discomfort in Makerspaces

Makerspaces are identified in HCI to have great potential in foster- ing diverse participation in technology and computing–considering making as a democratic form of innovation. However, growing re- search also indicates many current makerspaces fail to address non-white and non-cisheteronormative perspectives. Prior works suggest embodiment as a core but seldom understood considera- tion for intersectional inclusion. Current trends in technologies and computing also stifle such considerations through two phenomena: broader implications of “woman lite” thinking, and what this provo- cation defines as “techno-disembodiments.” To combat perpetuating these phenomena in makerspaces, we posit looking to bodily and sensory responses, or embodied reflections, from communities of Trans and Black, Indigenous and People of Color (TBIPOC). Fur- ther, we examine prior works in visual auto-ethnography and diary studies for approaches to inquire about embodied reflections. In con- sidering embodied reflections of TBIPOC communities, researchers can gain insights on decentering cisheteronormative whiteness to afford broader inclusion in maker culture.